Live from China – Marketplace

American Public Media’s Marketplace is broadcasting a special report Live from China from January 9-20. Their website includes the the full-show audio as well as Latest Features, Photo Gallery, Music, Economic Timeline and Story Archives. It also includes a blog, in which correspondent Jocelyn Ford writes about covering the recent protests in Zhongshan:

First thing this morning, the phone rang.

“Are your bags packed?” It was my editors in Los Angeles. There are reports of village protests in Southern China over confiscated land. The protesters blocked a highway, and then the protests turned violent. A teenager was reportedly beaten to death. A newspaper said her parents were paid to keep silent.

Inevitably, your editor thinks it must be easy to get there. “Just a skip and jump from Hong Kong.”

Well, sort of. But the closest airport is a three-hour flight away. And then it’s a three-hour bus ride to a nearby city, and the village is about 30 kilometers beyond. Another detail: The village has reportedly been cordoned off by police.